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Social Media/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Nat and Moby Moby is using his cell phone to take a video of himself with the Statue of Liberty in the background. As he presses "record", he breaks apart. His head, arms, legs, and torso fall to the ground. Nat walks toward him while looking at her phone. She stubs her toe on one of his parts. NAT: Gah! Moby's arm extends from the ground and holds up his phone. He has posted his video on social media and his followers are leaving encouraging comments. NAT: Seriously, this stunt again? An email icon pops up on the phone screen. Moby clicks on it and an email fills the screen. Nat reads it. NAT: Dear Nat and Moby, I'm on social media 24/7. How did anyone survive before it was around? Let me know, Stacey. Nat snatches the phone out of Moby's hand. NAT: It's hard to imagine going an hour without social media, for some of us anyway. Sharing selfies, sending silly gifs, those never-ending group chats… And of course making sure everyone is updated on our current status. These apps and websites make it easy to stay connected with friends. Nat swipes the phone screen. Images show a photo of Moby in front of the Statue of Liberty, a gif of him wearing a Statue of Liberty crown, and a group text exchange. A final image shows a selfie of Moby wearing a Statue of Liberty costume, along with the message "Give me your poor, tired, huddled robots!" NAT: I turn to my social networks whenever I need some extra TLC or support. And to check in with folks who are into the same stuff as I am. Moby stands up next to Nat and reattaches his head. NAT: No matter how unusual your hobbies and interests are, you can find a group for it. They're great for exploring different sides of your personality! Nat holds a tablet. She is using an app called SocialCode to share code with friends Tim, Cassie, and Rita. MOBY: Beep! NAT: Yeah, for a lot of us, social media is our doorway to the Internet. They're how we listen to music and watch TV. How we play video games and even get our news. They help us keep up with what’s going on in our world. Animations show Moby listening to music on his phone, a TV show streaming on a phone screen, a video game avatar of Moby, and news articles posted on a social media platform. NAT: Which is good news for the companies that own these tools. Because hosting all that action is how they make their money. MOBY: Beep? NAT: Social media platforms capture all the stuff you do on them. Every post, comment, and reaction you share is turned into content. A close-up of Moby's phone screen shows the video Moby recorded in front of the Statue of Liberty. He presses buttons to share it on an app called MyFlix. Wireless waves emit from the top of the phone. NAT: That's anything other people might be interested in checking out. The wireless waves travel to the phone of a female robot. She views the video on MyFlix. The video is labeled "Content." NAT: If social media were a magazine, your posts would be the articles. If it were television, they would be the shows you watch. These companies generate income by sticking ads in the middle of that stuff. An animation shows the female robot scrolling down to reveal comments under the video. They are labeled "Also content." She scrolls back to the video, where a hamburger ad is playing. NAT: Except instead of paying journalists and actors to create content… social media gets the people using it to do all the work. MOBY: Beep! NAT: Sure, you receive something in return. You get to use all the fun features a social network offers. Moby posts a "chirp" showing off his new sneakers. NAT: But as you do, you're telling them a lot about yourself. What you’re listening to, watching, reading, and buying. This is all valuable data for the network. An animation shows the platform's chicken logo. A thought bubble filled with icons of Moby's face, a heart, and the sneakers appears above its head. The chicken's eyes become dollar signs and it squawks and gives a thumbs up. NAT: They use it to target you with ads that might appeal to you. Companies pay top dollar to advertise to people who have shown an interest in what they're selling. To the social network, your attention is the product. And advertisers are their main customers. Moby looks at his Chirper feed. An advertisement for a sale at a shoe store appears under his chirp. MOBY: Beep. NAT: There's nothing necessarily wrong with this set-up. But it explains why social media platforms want you to keep posting away. After all, the more content you create, the more money they make. So they notify you when people respond to your posts. Our brains are hard-wired to react to feedback. These responses give you a pleasant little jolt. Which encourages you to post more, get more feedback, and on it goes. That's why we often behave differently online than we do in real life. Moby looks at his Chirper feed. The chicken icon is replaced by a dollar sign and makes a cash register sound. A notification appears reading "Greenbeans liked your chirp!" Others reads "Josephine replied to your chip!" and "Crackers re-chirped your chirp!" Moby smiles and types on his phone. MOBY: Beep? NAT: You may feel like you have to pump up the positive parts of your life. While playing down stuff that isn't so flattering. This sort of curated identity is disconnected from the real world. No one's life is ever that perfect. An animation shows Moby eating junk food on the couch while posting a photo of him running across the finish line of a race. He captions the photo "Never stop chasing your dreams!" NAT: On the other end of things, some kids like to post provocative stuff. They might share a point of view that they know will set other people off. Or troll other users, starting arguments just to get a reaction. Or they'll bully people with rude remarks, or even threats. I know I don't have to remind any of you that making people feel bad, online or off, is not okay. An animation shows a user posting a chirp that says "Star Trek is for dum-dums." Another user posts an angry reply and the two continue calling each other names. A troll holding a flaming torch appears next to the exchange. MOBY: Beep? NAT: There's nothing wrong with trying to stand out from the crowd. But you need to be careful about oversharing. That's when you post stuff that should probably remain private. Moby holds a tablet. An animation shows the tablet's desktop with an app called "Moby's Diary." NAT: It might not seem like such a big deal in the moment. But remember, once you hit send, that message is no longer yours. It's owned by the platform and all they see is more juicy content. Moby shares the app on Chirper. An animation shows the chicken logo turning into a dollar sign and making a cash register sound. NAT: Posts are nearly impossible to take back even if you delete them. They live on forever in other people's feeds and profiles. Even on platforms that delete old content, it's hard to make anything truly disappear. Anyone can screenshot your posts and share them later on. That's why showing good judgment is essential. An animation shows Moby holding his diary. Three arrows grow away from Moby and point to three other robots holding his diary. More arrows point from them to other robots, who all hold the diary. MOBY: Beep? NAT: The best advice is always to stop and think before hitting send. Are you comfortable with anyone being able to see your post? An animation shows Moby pressing the "Share" button on his diary app. A stop sign icon appears. NAT: And do you really want it to be out there forever? Moby puts a hand to his chin as he thinks. NAT: Speaking of which, it’s a good idea to be smart about your privacy settings. They let you limit who can view your posts. An animation shows the privacy settings for a platform called InstaSnap. Moby chooses "Friends Only" from the list of privacy options. NAT: Follow these tips, and social media can be fun, helpful, and safe. But remember, there's a lot more to life than what's going on online. So be sure to take a break, put down your phone, and… Moby turns around and nudges Nat. MOBY: Beep! Nat turns around. She an Moby look at the sun setting behind the Statue of Liberty and New York City skyline. NAT: Wow. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts